Bills & Legislation

Fostering Access, Innovation, and Responsibility in Artificial Intelligence Act; established.

Fostering Access, Innovation, and Responsibility in Artificial Intelligence Act established. Establishes the Fostering Access, Innovation, and Responsibility in Artificial Intelligence Act (FAIR AI Act) that requires a developer of a base artificial intelligence model, as defined in the bill, to clearly and conspicuously disclose, in a manner that is appropriate for the medium of the content and is easily accessible to the user of such model, in the terms of service governing the use of such model, certain elements related to the artificial intelligence system. The bill creates the FAIR AI Enforcement Fund for the purpose of supporting agency enforcement of artificial intelligence system misuse, bias, and workforce disruption. Finally, the bill limits the defenses available in any criminal or civil action against a defendant that is alleged to have developed, modified, or deployed an artificial intelligence system that caused harm to a plaintiff. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Stella G. PekarskyDemocrat

Income tax, state; creates child tax credit.

Individual income tax; child tax credit. Creates a refundable individual income tax credit in taxable years 2027 through 2031 in an amount equal to that allowed for the corresponding federal child tax credit. Only one credit may be claimed for each qualifying child, as defined in the bill.

Christie New CraigRepublican

Mental health service providers; definitions, use of artificial intelligence system, civil penalty.

Use of artificial intelligence system by mental health service providers; civil penalty. Permits the use of an artificial intelligence system by mental health service providers to assist in providing therapy or counseling services if such mental health service provider maintains full responsibility for all interactions, outputs, and data use associated with the system. The bill prohibits the use of an artificial intelligence system to provide therapy or counseling services without a mental health service provider. The bill specifies that records kept by mental health service providers must comply with health records privacy requirements; creates an exception for religious counseling, peer support, or self-help materials and educational resources; and establishes a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for violations of the statute.

Barbara A. FavolaDemocrat

Recovery residences; regulations.

Recovery residences; regulations. Establishes certain requirements for recovery residences and directs the State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Board) to promulgate regulations to establish minimum certification standards for recovery residences. The bill also requires that the regulations promulgated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (the Department) related to the certification of recovery residences include provisions that no recovery residence, or operator, employee, or agent of a recovery residence, may require a resident to participate in medical or psychological services, including clinical substance use treatment, that such recovery residence receives financial benefit from, either directly or indirectly, as a condition of entering or continuing residence at such recovery residence. The bill requires the Department to monitor credentialing agencies providing credentials to recovery residences to ensure criteria related to certification comply with regulations and specifies that no such credentialing agency shall provide credentials to a recovery residence that is owned or operated by an individual who is employed by or in a position of authority at such credentialing agency, or an immediate family member of any such individual. The bill also requires that referrals to recovery residences made by the Department, any agency of the Commonwealth, or by a court may only be made to recovery residences that are certified. This bill is identical to HB 931.

Schuyler T. VanValkenburgDemocrat

Prescription Drug Affordability Board; established.

Prescription Drug Affordability Advisory Panel established; maximum fair price; annual reports; civil penalties. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to establish the Prescription Drug Affordability Advisory Panel to conduct data analyses, develop policy recommendations, and identify implementation barriers related to strategies to improve prescription drug affordability, enhance price transparency, and strengthen data collection practices for prescription drugs across public and private payers. The bill requires the Panel to (i) report annually on prescription drug pricing trends and any policy recommendations on legislation to improve prescription drug affordability and (ii) provide quarterly updates on prescription drug pricing trends. The bill requires each pharmacy benefits manager to provide to the Panel, upon request, certain information relating to the dispensation of a referenced drug, as defined in the bill.The bill prohibits prescription drug manufacturers or wholesale distributors permitted or licensed in the Commonwealth from accepting payment at an amount higher than the maximum fair price established by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to federal law for the sale of a referenced drug intended for use by individuals in the Commonwealth. Under the bill, an entity that violates such prohibition is subject to a civil penalty of $10,000 per violation. The bill also prohibits a manufacturer subject to its provisions from removing a referenced drug from sale distribution in the Commonwealth for the purpose of avoiding the impact of the bill's rate limitations without providing certain prior notice. Under the bill, a manufacturer that violates such prohibition on removing a referenced drug without the required notice is subject to a civil penalty equal to the greater of $100,000 or the total amount of annual savings for the referenced drug, as determined by the Board of Pharmacy. This bill is identical to HB 483.

R. Creigh DeedsDemocrat

Firearm or explosive material; exemptions, carrying in public institutions of higher education.

Carrying a firearm or explosive material within Capitol Square or building owned or leased by the Commonwealth; exemptions; public institutions of higher education; penalty. Limits the exemption from the prohibition on the carrying of any firearm or explosive material within any building owned or leased by the Commonwealth or agency thereof or any office where employees of the Commonwealth or any agency thereof are regularly present for the purpose of performing their official duties that currently applies to any property owned or operated by a public institution of higher education to instead apply to any individual within a building owned or operated by a public institution of higher education who possesses a weapon as part of such public institution of higher education's curriculum or activities or as part of any organization authorized by such public institution of higher education to conduct its programs or activities within such building, as such uses are approved through the law-enforcement or public safety unit of such institution. This bill is identical to HB 626.

R. Creigh DeedsDemocrat

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; Eviction Diversion Program, eligibility.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; Eviction Diversion Program; eligibility. Requires any general district court that implements the Eviction Diversion Program to attach information about the Program, including eligibility criteria, to any summons for unlawful detainer. The bill also alters eligibility requirements for a tenant to participate in the Program. This bill is identical to HB 837.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Hampton University; recognition and restoration of status as a land-grant university.

Educational and cultural institutions; Recognition and restoration of status of Hampton University as a land-grant university; requirements; task force. Recognizes and restores the status of Hampton University as an 1862 and 1890 land-grant university of the Commonwealth, in accordance with the provisions of applicable federal law, and (i) enumerates the funding and programs Hampton University shall be eligible for as a land-grant university and (ii) provides for the establishment of an evaluation task force by the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations and the House Committee on appropriations upon federal recognition of Hampton University as an institution eligible to receive federal funding and participate in federal and state programs established under applicable law relating to land-grant universities for the purpose of evaluating the status of Hampton University and the feasibility of recognizing the institution as a land-grant university of the Commonwealth in accordance with the provisions of the bill.

Mamie E. LockeDemocrat

Medicaid managed care organizations; community health worker expansion, etc., report.

Department of Medical Assistance Services; community health worker expansion. Directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services, in coordination with the Department of Health, Department of Social Services, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, to (i) evaluate opportunities for Medicaid managed care organizations to embed certified community health workers into care coordination models, (ii) evaluate the implementation of 2024 Medicare Community Health Integration services codes, (iii) develop and implement statewide workforce pathways for community health worker training, and (iv) identify opportunities to expand the use of community health workers in programs supporting high-cost Medicaid populations. The bill directs the Department of Medical Assistance Services to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Joint Commission on Health Care and the Chairs of the House Committee on Appropriations and Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than December 1, 2026.

Angelia Williams GravesDemocrat

State correctional facilities; visitation policies, annual report.

State correctional facilities; visitation policies; work group. Sets additional visitation standards for visitors to state correctional facilities. The bill requires the Department of Corrections (the Department) to provide extended or additional visitation access for long-distance visitors. The bill provides that each in-person visit shall last a minimum of two hours unless shortened at the request of either the visitor or the incarcerated individual, or in response to an active security event. The bill also provides that visitation privileges may be suspended only for conduct occurring during visitation that presents a direct and substantial threat to the physical safety of participants or the security of the correctional facility. The bill provides a timeline and process for appealing any suspension of visitation rights. Finally, the bill directs the Department to convene a work group to consider and develop practical policy and legislative recommendations regarding visitation. The work group is required to report its findings and specific legislative and policy recommendations to the General Assembly by October 1, 2026. This bill is identical to HB 173.

Angelia Williams GravesDemocrat

Federal 340B Drug Pricing Program; impacts within the Commonwealth.

Drug manufacturers; 340B Drug Pricing Program; work group; report. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to convene a work group to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program within the Commonwealth, with emphasis on governance, transparency, and the availability of pharmacy services in rural and underserved areas. The bill requires the work group to submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriations and Education and Health and the House Committees on Appropriations and Health and Human Services by November 1, 2026.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Waverly, Town of; amending charter, transitioning town government.

Charter; Town of Waverly; emergency. Amends the charter for the Town of Waverly in Sussex County by transitioning the town from a strong mayor form of government to a council-manager form of government. Additional changes to the charter in the bill include (i) shifting town council elections from May to November, (ii) appointing a town manager, (iii) shifting certain duties from an elected mayor to a town manager, and (iv) repealing numerous outdated provisions. The bill contains an emergency clause.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Dental hygienist licensure; dentists eligible to practice in a foreign country or jurisdiction.

Dental hygienist licensure; dentists eligible to practice in a foreign country or jurisdiction. Permits the Board of Dentistry to grant a license to practice dental hygiene to persons who are eligible to practice dentistry in a country or jurisdiction outside of the United States and who are graduates of a dental school or college, or the dental department of an institution of higher education, located outside of the United States that the Board determines is acceptable. This bill is identical to HB 1036.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Penalties for failure to appear; definition, contempt.

Penalties for failure to appear; contempt. Provides that a court shall consider certain mitigating factors to determine whether the failure of any person to appear before any court or judicial officer as required was willful. Under current law, no mitigating factors are specified for a court or judicial officer to consider in determining whether a person willfully failed to appear. This bill is identical to HB 933.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Teachers; timeline and process for increasing salaries to at least national average.

Average teacher salary in the Commonwealth; national average. Requires the Governor's introduced budget bills for the 2027 and 2028 Regular Sessions of the General Assembly to propose funding for, and state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act enacted during any regular or special session of the General Assembly during 2027 or 2028 to fund, the Commonwealth's share of compensation supplement incentives for Standards of Quality-funded instructional and support positions sufficient to increase the average teacher salary in the Commonwealth to at least the national average teacher salary by the end of fiscal year 2029 and establishes a detailed timeline and process for satisfying such requirement.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Urban Public-Private Partnership Redevelopment grant program; Board of HCD to review, etc.

Department of Housing and Community Development; administration of Urban Public-Private Partnership Redevelopment grant program; report. Directs the Department of Housing and Community Development to review and develop criteria and guidelines for the administration of the Urban Public-Private Partnership Redevelopment grant program in consultation with the Virginia Association of Counties, the Virginia First Cities Coalition, the Virginia Municipal League, and the Virginia Economic Developers Association. The bill requires such criteria to include (i) award prioritization for (a) localities experiencing an above average and high level of fiscal stress as designated by the Commission on Local Government in its most recent Report on Comparative Revenue Capacity, Revenue Effort, and Fiscal Stress of Virginia's Cities and Counties and (b) localities experiencing a significant decrease in commercial real estate assessments and (ii) the amount and type of local matches with consideration of both monetary and non-monetary contribution requirements. The bill requires the Director of the Department to report the Department's findings to the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the House Committee on General Laws no later than November 1, 2026.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

State Government Internship Coordinator; DHRM to establish and employ.

Department of Human Resource Management; State Government Internship Coordinator. Requires the Department of Human Resource Management to establish and employ a State Government Internship Coordinator to attract high quality interns to the service of the Commonwealth with the goal of developing such interns in a manner that supports their ability to compete for positions in agencies of the Commonwealth upon conclusion of their internships and completion of their educational programs. The bill also requires the Department to establish and administer a system to provide professional development opportunities for state agency interns, intern supervisors, and human resources staff. This bill is identical to HB 54.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

State Police, Department of, Executive Protection Division; security and transportation duties.

Department of State Police; Executive Protection Division; security and transportation duties. Provides that the Executive Protection Division of the Virginia Department of State Police shall have a duty to provide security and transportation to those persons designated by the Constitution of Virginia to succeed to the office of the Governor should a vacancy exist.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Protection of employees; standards for heat illness prevention, report.

Protection of employees; standards for heat illness prevention; Safety and Health Codes Board. Requires the Safety and Health Codes Board (the Board) to adopt regulations designed to protect workers from heat illness, as defined in the bill, during indoor and outdoor work. The bill provides that such regulations shall be enforced by the Board's existing authority. The bill directs the Board, in consultation with the Department of Labor and Industry, to develop and adopt regulations that require employers to implement heat illness prevention plans and to convene an advisory panel to assist in developing such regulations. This bill is identical to HB 1092.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Hopewell, City of; amending charter, membership of Hopewell Water Renewal Commission.

Charter; City of Hopewell; Hopewell Water Renewal Commission. Changes the membership makeup of the Hopewell Water Renewal Commission (the Commission) by providing that up to seven members shall be selected from nominees submitted by users, with each user being permitted to nominate one member. The bill specifies that each new nominating user shall provide a reasonable, market-based capital contribution based on expected facility usage and consistent with the net present value of the existing users' prior capital contributions. The bill also establishes that, in order for actions or decisions made by the Commission to be effective, they must be agreed to by (i) a majority of its members and (ii) either the city manager or the member of the city council serving on the Commission. Finally, the bill removes the city council's authority to overrule actions of the Commission and to prescribe further duties to the Commission.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; enforcement by localities.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; enforcement by localities. Provides that if a condition exists in a dwelling unit that constitutes a material noncompliance by the landlord with the rental agreement or with any provision of law that, if not remedied within a reasonable time frame, constitutes a fire hazard or serious threat to the life, health, or safety of a tenant or occupant of the premises, a locality may institute an action on behalf of any tenant or occupant of the premises who is injured by such material noncompliance for injunction and damages to enforce the landlord's duty to maintain the dwelling unit in a fit and habitable condition, provided that (i) the premises where the violation occurred is within the jurisdictional boundaries of the locality and (ii) the locality has notified the landlord who owns the premises, either directly or through the managing agent, of the nature of the violation and the landlord has failed to remedy the violation to the satisfaction of the locality within a reasonable time after receiving such notice. This bill is identical to HB 14.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Health, State Board of, regulations; standards for levels of neonatal care.

State Board of Health regulations; standards for levels of neonatal care. Directs the State Board of Health to establish standards for designation of care in neonatal services consistent with, but not necessarily identical to, standards published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The bill directs the Board of Health to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of the bill by July 1, 2027, and prohibits enforcement of such regulations until July 1, 2029. This bill is identical to HB 456.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Richmond Internatl. Airport; discontinuing use of PFAS chemicals in firefighting materials, report.

Capital Region Airport Commission; plan for discontinuing the use of PFAS chemicals in firefighting materials at Richmond International Airport; report. Directs the Capital Region Airport Commission to develop a plan for discontinuing by January 1, 2030, the use of PFAS chemicals in firefighting materials at Richmond International Airport and to complete such plan and provide a report to the Virginia Aviation Board no later than November 15, 2026.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

Va. Residential Landlord & Tenant Act; submetering, energy allocation, & ratio utility billing sys.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; civil action for unlawful detainer; termination notice; energy submetering equipment. Provides that no landlord shall file or maintain an action for unlawful detainer against a residential tenant for any alleged lease violation until the landlord has provided the tenant with a proper and effective termination notice and that no notice of termination of tenancy for nonpayment of rent pursuant to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act shall be effective unless such notice contains a written statement of charges and payments over the course of the tenancy or the past 12 months, whichever is shorter, and any late charges, attorney fees, costs, and other charges or damages as contracted for in the rental agreement that are due and owing. The bill requires such notice to also include debits and credits incurred by the tenant for energy and utility bills and any additional charges permitted as applicable. The bill also requires the owner of any residential building to maintain adequate records indicating how monthly energy and utility billing fees are calculated and including a history of billing fee payments for each tenant over the duration of the tenancy or the past 12 months, whichever is shorter. Such records shall be made available to the tenant upon request. Finally, the bill removes a provision allowing for the collection of fees when a tenant requests such records. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 1361.

Lashrecse D. AirdDemocrat

County manager plan of government; affordable dwelling unit ordinance.

County manager plan of government; affordable dwelling unit ordinance. Increases local authority over affordable housing for counties that have adopted the county manager plan of government (Arlington County) by (i) potentially increasing the cash contribution to the county's affordable housing fund by developers in lieu of providing affordable dwelling units and (ii) providing that applications for a special exception approval for a change of use of an existing building from commercial to residential may be subject to an affordable housing requirement. The bill directs the governing body of such counties to appoint an advisory board to advise the governing body regarding the appropriate provisions of an ordinance to amend the cash contribution amounts to such county's affordable housing fund. Certain provisions of the bill do not become effective unless reenacted by the 2027 Session of the General Assembly.

Barbara A. FavolaDemocrat

New College Institute; reconstitution of Institute as West Piedmont Higher Education Center, etc.

New College Institute; name; membership and composition of board of directors. Renames New College Institute as the West Piedmont Higher Education Center (the Center) and makes several revisions to the membership requirements for the board of directors of the Center, including (i) increasing from 15 to 20 members the total membership of the board of directors; (ii) modifying the composition of the board of directors by adding as required members the Executive Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia or his designee, the Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System or his designee, and the presidents of George Mason University, Longwood University, Radford University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Virginia State University or their designees; (iii) reducing from 10 to seven the total number of nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Governor and requiring five of such nonlegislative citizen members to be representatives of West Piedmont public education and area business and industry, including one division superintendent, one public school teacher, and three business and industry leaders; and (iv) adding the president of Patrick & Henry Community College or his designee to serve as an ex officio nonvoting member. The bill also requires the board of directors of the Center, in collaboration with representatives of GO Virginia Region 3, the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, Patrick & Henry Community College, local school boards, and major regional employers, to develop a sustainability plan, including a comprehensive strategic plan and customer recruitment and expansion strategy, to provide higher education degree and certification programs in accordance with its mission, to review options to achieve the goals stated in such plan, and to report on such options to the Governor, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations, and the Chair of the House Committee on Appropriations no later than August 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 430.

Kannan SrinivasanDemocrat

Peanut; designating as state snack.

Official emblems and designations; state snack; peanut. Designates the peanut as the official state snack.

Emily M. JordanRepublican

Exemptions from garnishment; minimum protected account balance, certain benefit payments.

Exemptions from garnishment; minimum protected account balance; certain benefit payments; procedure for financial institutions. Requires certain financial institutions to automatically exempt from garnishment (i) a minimum protected account balance, defined in the bill as the combined total of not more than $1,000 in a judgment debtor's account or across multiple accounts in the same financial institution, and (ii) a protected amount of certain benefit payments, defined in the bill, that have been deposited into the account via direct deposit or electronic deposit within the two months immediately preceding the day before a financial institution commences an account review. The bill describes an account review as a process of examining an account of a judgment conducted by a financial institution upon such financial institution's receipt of a garnishment summons to determine if any eligible benefit payments have been deposited within the applicable time period and, if so, to calculate the total sum of such benefit payments and establish the total as a protected amount that shall be automatically exempt from garnishment. The bill provides that such procedure to automatically exempt such funds shall not apply if the debt arises from a child support or spousal support obligation or if an exemption is otherwise prohibited by law.The bill further provides that a judgment debtor is not required to claim nor request a hearing for such automatic exemptions. Finally, the bill makes updates to the relevant provisions governing garnishment proceedings, notices to the garnishee and judgment debtor, and the form of a garnishment summons consistent with the provisions of the bill. This bill is identical to HB 601.

Schuyler T. VanValkenburgDemocrat

Peanuts; excise tax, sunset extended.

Excise tax on peanuts; sunset extended. Extends from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2027, the sunset date of the excise tax on all peanuts grown in and sold in Virginia for processing.

Emily M. JordanRepublican

Suffolk, City of; amending charter, clarifying membership of city council.

Charter; City of Suffolk. Corrects an error in the existing charter of the City of Suffolk to clarify that the city council shall consist of eight members to reflect the addition of the directly elected mayor to the city council. The bill also removes obsolete language to clarify the appointment process and responsibilities of the city clerk. Finally, the bill updates language to reflect the city manager's direct responsibility for the department directors, consistent with the City of Suffolk's established management and reporting structure. This bill is identical to HB 940.

Emily M. JordanRepublican

Va. Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for 911 dispatchers, delayed effective date.

Virginia Retirement System; enhanced retirement benefits for 911 dispatchers. Allows local governments to provide enhanced retirement benefits for hazardous duty service to full-time salaried 911 dispatchers. The bill provides that such enhanced retirement benefits apply only to service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcher on or after July 1, 2027, but allows an employer, as that term is defined in relevant law, to provide such enhanced retirement benefits for service earned as a full-time salaried 911 dispatcher before July 1, 2027, in addition to service earned on or after that date. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Emily M. JordanRepublican

Kinship foster care; barrier crime waiver, report.

Kinship foster care; barrier crime waiver; report. Establishes a process by which a local department of social services may apply for a barrier crime waiver on behalf of an individual who has been convicted of a Virginia barrier crime that (i) is not (a) included on the list of federal barrier crimes; (b) a violent felony offense; or (c) an offense requiring registration under the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry Act and (ii) does not otherwise fall under a barrier crime exception for foster or adoptive homes for the purpose of approval of the individual's home as a kinship foster home. The bill creates a process by which such a local department of social services may apply to the Department of Social Services for a waiver and for the Department to conduct an assessment of such application. The bill also requires the Department of Social Services to file an annual report by December 1 of each year detailing the specifics of the waiver process to the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services and the House Committee on Health and Human Services. This bill is identical to HB 632.

Stella G. PekarskyDemocrat

Drug overdose and drug overdose deaths; VDH to develop plan for opioid overdose response.

Department of Health; reduction of opioid overdose and opioid overdose deaths; report. Directs the Department of Health to develop a strategic plan for opioid overdose response to reduce rates of drug overdose and drug overdose deaths in the Commonwealth and to provide a report on the status of such strategic plan and its implementation to the Governor, the Chairs of the House Committees on Appropriations and Health and Human Services and the Senate Committees on Education and Health and Finance and Appropriations, and the Joint Commission on Health Care by November 1, 2026, and annually thereafter. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Joint Commission on Health Care. This bill is identical to HB 794.

Stella G. PekarskyDemocrat

Driver education programs; voluntary initiatives for drivers with autism spectrum disorder.

Driver education programs; voluntary initiatives for drivers with autism spectrum disorder. Requires driver education programs to include information about voluntary initiatives for drivers with autism spectrum disorder, including the driver communication improvement program, the driver's license indicator option, and the registration indicator option. The bill also directs the Board of Education to prepare, publish, and distribute instructional materials about these voluntary initiatives.

Stella G. PekarskyDemocrat

State Corporation Commission; time frame for completion of certain proceedings.

State Corporation Commission; time frame for completion of certain proceedings. Requires the State Corporation Commission to complete proceedings involving an application for a certificate, permit, or approval required for the construction or operation by a public utility of certain transmission lines within nine months following such application, as required by current law for small renewable energy projects. The bill permits the Commission to enlarge such nine-month period for up to 120 days for applications regarding certain transmission lines. This bill is identical to HB 466.

T. Travis HackworthRepublican

Constitutional amdmnt. marriage between two adult persons, repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition.

Constitutional amendment (voter referendum); marriage between two adult persons; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition. Provides for a referendum at the November 3, 2026, general election to approve or reject an amendment that requires the equal treatment under the law of a lawful marriage between two adult persons regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such persons. The amendment also repeals the current provision that defines marriage as only a union between one man and one woman. This bill is identical to HB 612.

Adam P. EbbinDemocrat

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; rental payment methods, prohibited fees.

Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; rental payment methods; prohibited fees. Requires a landlord subject to the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act to accept payment of periodic rent and any security deposit by check and money order. The bill additionally prohibits such a landlord from requiring a tenant to pay any fee to submit periodic rent payments or other amounts due in excess of the actual out-of-pocket expenses charged to the landlord by a third party to process a payment. Finally, the bill prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant to pay any fee for the maintenance or repair of any dwelling unit unless the repair is necessitated by the tenant's violation of the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. This bill is identical to HB 1005.

Adam P. EbbinDemocrat

Tourism improvement districts; transient occupancy tax in Arlington County.

Tourism improvement districts; administering nonprofits; county manager plan; transient occupancy tax. Allows tourism entities, defined in the bill, to enter into written agreements for the provision of professional services to an administering nonprofit that is under contract with a locality to administer or implement activities specified in a tourism improvement district plan. Current law does not permit such public-private partnerships in tourism improvement districts. The bill also requires a newly formed administering nonprofit's board of directors to be wholly composed of business owners and an existing administering nonprofit to create a committee of business owners to oversee the activities prescribed in the tourism improvement district plan. Finally, the bill permits any locality with the county manager plan of government (Arlington County) to impose an additional transient occupancy tax of up to one percent. This bill is identical to HB 524.

Adam P. EbbinDemocrat

Safeguarding American Veteran Empowerment Act; created, prohibited practices, penalties.

Safeguarding American Veteran Empowerment Act; prohibited practices; penalties. Creates the Safeguarding American Veteran Empowerment Act to regulate the practices of persons seeking to receive compensation for preparing, presenting, prosecuting, advising, consulting, or assisting any individual regarding any veterans' benefits matter, as defined in the bill. The bill provides that a violation of its provisions constitutes a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. This bill is identical to HB 398.

Adam P. EbbinDemocrat

Notarization, filing, & recordation of certain land records; duties of notary or settlement agent;.

Notarization, filing, and recordation of certain land records; duties of notary or settlement agent; acknowledgement and satisfactory evidence of identity; requirements for commission or recommission of notary; clerk of circuit court to establish property alert notification system. Removes personal knowledge of identity from the methods by which a notary public, electronic notary public, or other person authorized by law to perform a notarial act may identify an individual for purposes of performing a notarial act such as acknowledgement or affirmation. Under current law, the identity of an individual for such purpose may be established if such individual is personally known to the person performing the notarial act or by a presentation of satisfactory evidence of identity, as defined by law. The bill also adds a requirement that, within the six months immediately preceding the submission of his application, a person applying for commission to be a notary public or electronic notary public, or an existing notary public or electronic notary public applying for recommission, complete a course of instruction developed and approved by the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The bill specifies that one hour of such course of instruction shall be on the topic of real estate fraud and financial exploitation of elderly persons and shall include training on current trends on such topics and on recognizing instances of such fraud or financial exploitation. The bill directs the Secretary of the Commonwealth to develop the curricula for such courses of instruction by January 1, 2027, and has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027, for those provisions related to the requirement that applicants for commission and recommission complete and present proof of completion of such courses of instruction.The bill also requires any clerk of a circuit court that has established a network or system of electronic filing of land records to also establish a property alert notification system for owners of real property within the circuit court's jurisdiction. The bill provides that an owner who enrolls his real property into such property alert notification system may do so at no cost and that such system shall send notifications to such owner when documents affecting or purporting to affect the enrolled property are filed with the clerk's office. The provisions related to the establishment of the property alert notification system have a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.Finally, the bill requires notaries public to keep a record of all notarial acts occurring on or after July 1, 2026, and to include in such record the form of satisfactory evidence of identification used to verify the identity of the principal and credible witnesses. Similarly, the bill requires settlement agents responsible for recording deeds, deeds of trust, or other documents relating to land records to obtain satisfactory evidence of identity of a seller of real property prior to settlement. This bill is identical to HB 163.

T. Travis HackworthRepublican

Interjurisdictional law-enforcement agreements; development of behavioral health co-response teams.

Interjurisdictional law-enforcement agreements; behavioral health co-response teams. Provides that interjurisdictional law-enforcement agreements may allow for the development of co-response teams staffed by one or more law-enforcement agencies that respond to behavioral health-related calls in multiple jurisdictions. This bill is a recommendation of the Behavioral Health Commission. This bill is identical to HB 248.

Russet PerryDemocrat

Inmates; Director of Dept. of Corrections shall continue to accept applications for confinement.

Director of the Department of Corrections; placement of inmates. Directs the Director of the Department of Corrections to continue accepting and reviewing applications for the confinement of inmates from a state party to the Interstate Corrections Compact entered into pursuant to relevant law, but prohibits any placement of any such inmate at the Red Onion State Prison until such time as the General Assembly reauthorizes such placement by act of assembly.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Photo speed monitoring devices; placement and operations.

Photo speed monitoring devices; placement and operation; summons. Requires a second summons for a vehicle speed violation captured by a photo speed monitoring device to be mailed if a summoned person fails to appear on the date of return set out in the first summons mailed. If the summoned person fails to appear after the second summons, the bill requires the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles to refuse to issue or renew the vehicle registration certificate or the license plate issued for such vehicle until the required civil penalties and any administrative fees have been paid and any applicable reinstatement processes required by the Department of Motor Vehicles have been completed. The bill directs the Supreme Court of Virginia to develop a summons for vehicle speed violations captured by photo speed monitoring devices and requires summonses issued for such vehicle speed violations to be such summons. The bill makes various changes to the requirements for the use of photo speed monitoring devices, including the use of funds from collected civil penalties, signage, data retention and storage, photo speed monitoring device calibration, making certain information available to the public, requirements for private vendors, and reporting. The bill establishes civil penalties for violations of requirements and provides that, for any summons issued, failure to comply with the requirements for the operation of photo speed monitoring devices renders such summons invalid and requires courts to dismiss such summons. The bill provides that any person against whom an enforcement action is carried out by a locality or law-enforcement agency, pursuant to the authority granted for the use of photo speed monitoring devices, where the enforcement action was based upon a willful disregard for applicable law, shall be entitled to an award of compensatory damages and to an order remanding the matter to the locality with a direction to carry out any further enforcement in a manner consistent with the law and may be entitled to reasonable attorney fees and court costs. The bill also provides that if a locality fails to comply with such an order, the court may order that the locality shall be ineligible to receive any funds collected from enforcement using photo speed monitoring devices, in excess of those used for its photo speed monitoring device program, and that the court shall order that any such excess funds be deposited in the Virginia Highway Safety Improvement Program until the locality comes into compliance with such order. The bill also limits the use of photo speed monitoring devices in highway work zones to when workers are present, as defined in the bill, and provides that a certificate sworn to or affirmed by a law-enforcement officer or a retired sworn law-enforcement officer is not prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein for a photo speed monitoring device placed in a highway work zone unless the operator of the photo speed monitoring device provides a sworn certification verifying that workers were present at the time of the vehicle speed violation. The bill contains delayed effective dates for certain provisions.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

School crossing zones; active times, locality may increase time preceding & following school hours.

School crossing zones; active times. Authorizes a local governing body, by ordinance, to increase from 30 minutes to up to 60 minutes the period of time before and after regular school hours during which school crossing zones are active if it determines that children will be going to or from school during that period of time.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Juvenile offenders; expands eligibility for parole.

Parole; eligibility; youthful offenders. Expands the eligibility requirements for juvenile parole to include (i) any person sentenced to a term of life imprisonment for a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committed while that person was 20 years of age or younger and who has served at least 20 years of such sentence and (ii) any person who has active sentences that total more than 20 years for a single felony offense or multiple felony offenses committed while that person was 20 years of age or younger and who has served at least 20 years of such sentence. Under current law, only a person who was a juvenile when he committed any such offense is eligible for juvenile parole.

Michael J. JonesDemocrat

Distributed Energy Resources Task Force; created, membership, reports, sunset.

Distributed Energy Resources Task Force established; reports; sunset. Establishes the Distributed Energy Resources Task Force as an advisory commission within the executive branch with the purpose of developing a comprehensive strategy to advance the Commonwealth's transition toward integrated distributed energy resource markets and to support the Commonwealth's compliance with certain regulations. The bill describes the membership, powers, and duties of the Task Force and requires the Task Force to submit various reports to the Governor, the State Corporation Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Chairs of the House Committee on Labor and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2027. This bill is identical to HB 285.

Schuyler T. VanValkenburgDemocrat

Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; created, report, membership.

Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank; established; report. Creates the Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank to finance clean energy projects, greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects, and other qualified projects through the strategic deployment of public funds in the form of grants, loans, credit enhancements, and other financing mechanisms. An advisory board consisting of nonlegislative citizen members and ex officio members shall oversee the Bank and provide recommendations related to the Bank and its effectiveness. The bill contains provisions for (i) the powers and duties of the Bank, (ii) lending practices, (iii) a strategic plan, (iv) an investment strategy, (v) public outreach requirements, (vi) audits, and (vii) reporting requirements. This bill is identical to HB 1444.

Scott A. SurovellDemocrat

Compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal infrastructure, etc.

Local competitive bidding for compost and other products containing organic soil amendments; waste disposal infrastructure; civil penalty. Allows the governing body of a locality to give preference to compost or other products containing organic soil amendments produced within such locality in the case of a tie bid when determining the award of any contract for compost or other products containing soil amendments to be purchased for use by such locality. The bill also provides that any locality may by ordinance require that certain generators, as defined in the bill, of large quantities of organic waste separate the organic waste from other solid waste and ensure that the organic waste is diverted from final disposal in a refuse disposal system by any of a variety of specified waste diversion activities. The ordinance may also establish civil penalties for violations of the ordinance, but a locality shall first issue a warning to a generator that violates the ordinance. Finally, the bill expresses that it is the intent of the General Assembly that new public school buildings and facilities and improvements and renovations to existing public school buildings and facilities include waste disposal infrastructure, as defined in the bill, that includes a place for the disposal of trash, recyclables, and food scraps and a sink for liquid waste. This bill is identical to HB 1011.

Scott A. SurovellDemocrat